Microsoft And Yahoo THIS CLOSE To A Search Deal. Again.

Microsoft and Yahoo have gotten hot and heavy again on the search-display partnership, Kara Swisher says.

If the companies actually make it to the altar (which they should), it will be interesting to see what prompted this renewed enthusiasm for one another. Some possibilities:

Yahoo saw its search share declining again (death)

Microsoft finally dug deep into its pockets for some serious cash (because Microsoft, too, was startled that Bing's first month was such a bust?)

Judging from Kara's description of a "several billion dollar" payment from Microsoft to Yahoo, the second seems more likely (last summer, Microsoft was only offering $1 billion). In any event, if things go well, we might get a deal next week.

Unless there is some major glitch, there might finally be a search and online advertising deal struck between Yahoo and Microsoft at long last.

Top executives at Microsoft–including SVP of the Online Audience Business Group Yusuf Mehdi, search head Satya Nadella and top digital exec Qi Lu, as well as others–have all flown down to Silicon Valley from their Redmond, Wash., HQ today to iron out the remaining issues, which seem to have to do with the deployment of technology...

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is also deeply involved in the talks, although he is not with the group...

While BoomTown has gotten several different versions of terms of the latest deal, they all include Microsoft (MSFT) paying Yahoo (YHOO) several billion dollars upfront to take over its search advertising business and guarantee certain payments back to Yahoo.

There is also a display advertising element to the deal, which would likely have Yahoo take the lead in selling premium advertising for the companies.